It was that kind of day. Even one of Scotland’s most prominent businessmen, with a reputation for being straight-laced and, let’s face it, a bit dour, was dancing on the pitch – and turning the airwaves blue.

Or maybe that should be red.

The Aberdeen chairman felt sheer relief at getting his hands on the League Cup after 19 years of trophyless torment, the disappointments and humiliations, the abuse from frustrated punters.

A beaming smile replaced the weary hangdog look of a man with the weight of the Granite City on his shoulders.

The endless amount of cash ploughed in, the countless hours of toil and turmoil, all that agony over in the most dramatic fashion.

Milne said: “It was just massive relief for everyone – I don’t think I’ve been as emotional in my life.”

Maybe now the punters will lob readies at the chairman rather than insults. He said: “I’ll be happy the day they start to throw £10 notes at me.

“This means so much to me, knowing we have thousands of Aberdeen fans who are now very, very happy. I’m one of them and I’m delighted.”

But was it all worth it? All that dosh? All that grief? To be left clutching that League Cup trophy?

He said: “Can we melt it down and I could flee the country with it?”

Don’t be daft. Some things are priceless.

Milne said: “It’s not so much the money. I think I have put a big part of my personal life into Aberdeen FC.

“There have been a lot of difficult moments and pain over that long period of time where there have been no trophies but Sunday made it all worth it.

“We now need to build on this cup win and move forward.

“I can’t honestly say I’ve reached a point where I thought I’ve had enough and I want to walk away from the club.

“I’ve always said if there is somebody out there who believes he can do a better job than me and is prepared to make the level of commitment both cash-wise and time-wise then I would be prepared to look at things.”

Milne never thought about walking away – and now Derek McInnes has ensured Aberdeen are back in the big time.

There was a poignant moment in the Parkhead directors box on Sunday when McInnes walked up and handed his chairman the trophy.

No big emotional hugs, no high fives or triumphant backslapping. The boss simply turned around and held up one finger. That’s trophy No.1 Mr chairman. More are on the way.

McInnes has revitalised the club from top to bottom – and breathed new life into the beleaguered chairman as well.

Milne said: “Derek has brought new life to the club. He has had a huge impact not only on the football operation but the club as a whole. I find him a fantastic guy to work with and we’re pretty much on the same page in what we are setting out to do.

“I also think we work pretty effectively together. He has probably given me renewed energy as well.

“It’s absolutely fantastic. Walking out and seeing 40,000 Aberdeen fans in that fantastic stadium made it the most emotional day of my life and then to go and win it was just fantastic.

“Derek and Tony Docherty have done a fantastic job since taking over. They inherited the bones of a very good squad from Craig Brown and Archie Knox.

“I certainly appreciated the job Archie and Craig have done. They brought a bit of stability and started to pull together the bones of the squad.

“Derek and Tony came in and had the benefit of the last five games after the split last season. The way they have progressed the squad over the course of the season has been great and I definitely don’t think our League Cup win has been a fluke.

“There is a mentality in that squad now where they go out believing they can win but also knowing they are only going to win if they work hard for 90 minutes.

“That bodes well for the season going forward and beyond.”

The first one is always the hardest and Milne hopes the Dons can make it a dream double. It’s already Aberdeen’s best season since 1995 but a cup double and second spot in the league would make it the most impressive since the glory days of the 80s.

Milne said: “I had my head in my hands when Inverness scored their penalties and my head was up in the air when we scored ours.It’s a bit ironic we got through the first round against Alloa with six perfect penalties at Pittodrie.

“Derek has got great confidence in the players.

“They work hard and practise their penalties during the week and I was pretty confident our boys would score.

“We now have a huge game against St Johnstone in the Scottish Cup semi-final.

“We had a great game against them at Tynecastle in the League Cup so nobody is thinking about another final yet.

“Derek has brought this mentality to the club where we have to prepare properly and believe we can go out there and win that game.

“If we can win it then it puts us in good stead for the next one.”

Milne has been so used to disappointments he even booked a family holiday during the time of the semi. But there’s no way he’s going to miss it. He said: “That game comes in the middle of our Easter holidays when I’m in Turkey.

“But I still intend to come back and see it because Derek really has something going and we as a club need to do everything we can to keep that momentum up.”